I’ve been spending very little time thinking about diet or training and I’ve managed to resist the urge to do any reading on the subject. I set the plan and just got on with it. It seems to have paid off!
Continue reading
a long list
#happiness #business #startups #fitness #running #strength #diet #paleo
Filed under Paleo …
Counting Calories
I’ve had a few messages telling me how negative one of my previous posts sounded.
I have no issue acknowledging that I did see some improvement in certain areas like sleep and concentration but was that down to the Leptin Reset or simply that I was no longer overtraining and I was taking in plenty of calories? Continue reading
On doubts, insanity and sunk costs
I know I said I wouldn’t do this but I’m not happy with my progress. I have been aiming for exceptional in how I look, feel and perform but I’m in worse shape than when I started paleo in October 2010. I haven’t even managed to maintain ‘good enough’.
Overtraining & Calorie Restriction
I just finished listening to Robb Wolf’s Paleo Solution podcast. Always entertaining and informative.
Resistance is futile! Or how to restore leptin sensitivity
In my last diet post I went through what leptin is, how it works and the effect it has on body composition. My reading and experimentation have now brought me to leptin resistance and how to restore leptin sensitivity. Very simply, leptin resistance is when the hormone isn’t working properly, causing the leptin receptors in the hypothalamus to down regulate or when something is blocking it from reaching the receptors.
Leptin: The King and I
There is a lot of information on Leptin written for a scientific or medical background but I wanted to find articles and posts from credible
sources that I could get through without making my head spin but at the same time not so dumbed down that other potentially important and interesting threads were lost.
What is Leptin?
Leptin is a hormone produced by fat cells that maintains the energy balance in the body, regulates hunger by acting on receptors in the brain, specifically the hypothalamus, where it counteracts the effects of feeding stimulants from the gut and the brain and produces an appetite suppressant. I have seen it described as the King of hormones because of its effects on metabolism, the immune system, reproduction and bone mass. Now for some unexplained reason, whenever I think of Leptin I see Yul Brynner in my head. Funny how the mind works…
I still don’t get it
Essentially, Leptin tells the brain that the body has had enough to eat and has adequate stores of fat. So at this level it’s a fairly simple process to understand. You eat, Leptin levels go up and you feel full so you stop eating. If you’re overweight or obese then you will generally have higher leptin levels, if you’re leaner then your levels will be lower.
Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better…
Nutiva Coconut Manna is my latest discovery courtesy of Dr Jack Kruse. I’m developing quite
the addiction to it which is dangerous considering I can’t buy it locally. Proceed at your own risk.
Sweet Potato & Hazelnut Paleo cake
I’m quite happy eating paleo and it’s been long enough now not to really crave anything I shouldn’t (for the most part). Occasionally though thoughts of cake do invade my brain.
Over Egging the Paleo Pudding
After three months on the paleo diet and handing out copies of The Paleo Solution to everyone (told you it was a little cultish but at least I drew the line at going door to door). I thought ‘I feel great but I bet I can feel even better’. 
I started reading that a little dairy in the form of heavy cream and pastured butter was actually beneficial. I don’t think I noticed the ‘little’ part and may have gone a bit overboard. I still felt good but I was gaining weight and my body composition was being thrown off.
I was still making gains in the gym but it was time to tweak again. I had already been doing a little bit of running so I thought that taking it more seriously by setting some targets would add some variety and get me lean again. I was reasonably fit from all the circuits but I actually went from running 3–4 miles up to regular 14 mile runs in the space of 7 weeks. Super endurance? Sadly not. The trick? Nike+, Facebook and sheer pigheadedness. Let me explain.
The Paleo Diet
For those that don’t know, a paleo or paleolithic diet emulates the diet our paleolithic ancestors
. You can eat meat, poultry, fish, seasonal fruits and vegetables and fat from sources like nuts
avocado and coconut oil. You remove grains, legumes, dairy and any kind of processed food. Quite simple really.
It is not necessarily low carb although I personally find that to lean up I need to keep carbs fairly low. I would highly recommend you visit Robb Wolf’s site and in particular his FAQ page.
I started a strict very low carb paleo diet in October 2010 and overall I found it quite easy. Family, friends, colleagues and restaurant staff however did not.
“What do you mean you’re not eating bread?”
“Well, just have a small piece”
“So you want the burger but without the bun?!”
“How about a sandwich, you can eat a sandwich can’t you?”
“What about some pasta?”
